620...as finicky as my 360?

[fiveightandten]

Hello Rick resource, nice forum you have here.

I have a '99 Jetglo 360/6 that i've owned since 2002 or thereabouts. Fantastic guitar, I love it to death.

I've been thinking about getting a Jetglo 620 as a partner in crime for the 360. A criticism I have about my 360 is that it's very finicky and prone to changes from the weather. I find that the neck relief (and consequently the setup) tends to shift more than my other guitars. It's not a huge deal, but my other guitars are mostly Gibsons. The Les Pauls I have are 10 lb blocks of wood that don't seem to be affected by weather or temperature shifts anywhere near as much as the Ric. It causes me to neglect the Ric when it's in need of adjustment, which is much more often.

Are solid body Rics any less prone to these issues? Thanks in advance for any input.

-Nick

[8mileshigher]

Welcome aboard the RRF, Nick !
Where are you located geographically, so we'll understand the climate situation you are referencing.


Oh, and post some pics of your JetGlo ... we'd love to see it !

[fiveightandten]

Welcome aboard the RRF, Nick !
Where are you located geographically, so we'll understand the climate situation you are referencing.


Oh, and post some pics of your JetGlo ... we'd love to see it !

Thanks for the reply Rich. I'm in Connecticut (I updated my profile info), so we do see a variety of weather throughout the seasons. In fact, it was 80 degrees 2 weeks ago, and we're in the middle of a snow storm right now.

The Ric has just always been more finicky with that sort of thing than my other guitars. I'm just curious as to what I should expect from a 620. I love the guitars, but I see them as more needy than my Gibsons or Fender Tele.

Anyways, I snapped a few quick shots of the 360. This one is a 1999. I bought it from the original owner in 2002. The guitar was quite literally unplayed at the time. I guess he bought it, and brought it to one gig. He never bonded with it, and it took a back seat to his custom shop Telecaster. It sat in the case in the closet for a while before he decided to just sell it. It still had the tags on it and the made in USA sticker on the pick guard when it came to me. I've put some wear on it for sure, but it's a great player.

The neck pickup is a scatterwound toaster that I wax potted. Great for clean tones. I left the stock HG in the bridge, as i'm a true rock rhythm guitarist by nature and I love my bridge pickup crunch. The combination in the middle position gives a great chime. The guitar is very versatile.

Anyways, a few pics...











Here's the gang (minus the Tele)...
-1995 Gibson Les Paul Studio (wine red)
-1992 Gibson Les Paul Standard (wine red)
-2000 Gibson Les SG '61 Reissue (heritage cherry)
-1999 Ric 360 (jetglo)

[doctorwho]

Welcome, Nick! Nice family of guitars there!

I use an older Rickenbacker model 460 (solid body) that is similar to the 620, and although I do have to retune it after it's been sitting out, I have not needed to adjust the neck since I last changed the strings. IMO, the neck-through design of the 460 and 620 should lend a greater stability, being that both ends of the strings are in essence attached to the same piece of wood.

[jdawe]

Welcome! That's a lovely 360 you have there -- and your Gibsons aren't to shabby, either.

I've never owned a 360, but I own two 620s (a 6 and a 12). I bought the 6-string last January (used) and the 12-string in April (new), so I've had some experience with them during a wide range of weather conditions. I'm in Toronto, and the weather is not hugely different from what you get in Connecticut -- a bit colder in the winter and marginally cooler in the summer, but not by much.

Anyway, I've found my 620s to be very stable. Over the course of the past year I had some mild low-fret buzzing on the heaviest strings of the six-stringer during the height of summer (around the time we had a record heat wave), but after about a week, before I got around to making any neck adjustments, the problem went away on its own. The neck on the 12 hasn't shifted noticeably during the time I've had it. I'm also amazed by how long these guitars stay in tune (the 12-string especially), particularly when compared with my other guitars (a Korean Fender Tele with a set neck and a Rickenbacker 430 with a bolt-on neck).

The Doctor's point about the 620's neck-through construction makes a lot of sense.

[fiveightandten]

Welcome, Nick! Nice family of guitars there!

I use an older Rickenbacker model 460 (solid body) that is similar to the 620, and although I do have to retune it after it's been sitting out, I have not needed to adjust the neck since I last changed the strings. IMO, the neck-through design of the 460 and 620 should lend a greater stability, being that both ends of the strings are in essence attached to the same piece of wood.

Thanks Gary. That's a good point about the neck-thru consitruction. I wasn't sure how much of this had to do with the dual truss rod system, or the construction methods employed with the guitar.

I guess it's all relative though. You mention not having to adjust it since you last changed strings. I'm not sure how often most people around here adjust neck relief, but having to tweak it every time I change my strings is completely out of the question. To put it in prospective, I normally go years without having to touch the necks on the Gibsons. The 360 needs adjustment twice a year, on average. I set up the SG about 6 months ago, but before that, I didn't need to touch the truss rod for 6 or 7 years.

Anyways, thanks for the input!

Welcome! That's a lovely 360 you have there -- and your Gibsons aren't to shabby, either.

I've never owned a 360, but I own two 620s (a 6 and a 12). I bought the 6-string last January (used) and the 12-string in April (new), so I've had some experience with them during a wide range of weather conditions. I'm in Toronto, and the weather is not hugely different from what you get in Connecticut -- a bit colder in the winter and marginally cooler in the summer, but not by much.

Anyway, I've found my 620s to be very stable. Over the course of the past year I had some mild low-fret buzzing on the heaviest strings of the six-stringer during the height of summer (around the time we had a record heat wave), but after about a week, before I got around to making any neck adjustments, the problem went away on its own. The neck on the 12 hasn't shifted noticeably during the time I've had it. I'm also amazed by how long these guitars stay in tune (the 12-string especially), particularly when compared with my other guitars (a Korean Fender Tele with a set neck and a Rickenbacker 430 with a bolt-on neck).

The Doctor's point about the 620's neck-through construction makes a lot of sense.

Thanks for the input Jonathan. Yeah, I haven't had much of an issue with the guitar staying in tune. There was a while where playing leads with bending would throw it off wildly. But I think that was an issue with the tension on the tail piece not being even. I've found if I make sure to give all the strings a nice tug, and jiggle the tail piece around a bit before tuning it up for the first time after a string change, everything tends to seat pretty well.

It's a little more quirky than other guitars, due to the tailpiece, and due to the bridge. There's some freeplay in the holes for the stand-offs that are machined into that plate that's screwed to the body. It's just enough to allow the bridge to shift and throw the intonation off. I've thought about having a machine shop fabricate another plate with slightly smaller holes for the standoffs. But i'm not sure it's not enough quite of a problem to warrant that. The guitar would just intonate so wonderfully if the machining tolerances in the bridge hardware were a little tighter, or the break angle over the saddles was a little more extreme to keep that bridge pinned down.

Anyways, thanks again for the reply. I hope our little mini winter isn't affecting you up there too much. Enjoy that new 620...both of them really. I'm sure they'll be fantastic instruments to own for many years to come.

-Nick

[Clint]

I have an '87 620 and it holds its setup like a rock. Hot, cold, humid, dry, no matter; nothing on that guitar moves unless I adjust it. Of course, my '96 360/12 hasn't needed very many tweeks over the years either. In short, my Rics don't seem to be too finicky. I've owned three Les Pauls over the years, one of them had a rubbery neck. So it may be that a finicky guitar is just the luck of the draw.

By the way, I'm really digging that faded on the left. Good move swapping the black for cream. I love the gold speed knobs.

[8mileshigher]

Nick -- I really dig that photo of your JetGlo 360's Neck Toaster and frets close-up. Awesome photography.
I think you ought to submit that picture for consideration for the RRF calendar coming up.

[Low End Lover]

I have '09 620/12 and a '95 610/6, which is basically a non-deluxe version of the 620, and it is so stable that once I got it set up after getting it, it just doesn't need anything more than to be tuned occasionally. The 620/12 is a bit fussy at times, but pretty darn stable overall. I think 600 series Rics are the best and I have seriously gone back and forth about keeping my '09 330/6 as the 610/6 is always the guitar I reach for. I think a 620 is an excellent choice and you may come to find that you prefer it.

My 2 cents,

LEL